Responsible meat-eating

Totally with you on that one. Hence my loosely pointed comment earlier about not wanting to be affiliated with the whole halal/belief thing anymore. There are too many variables depending on your cultural affiliation (where in the muslim world you're from, my background is sunni, so pretty generic or strict again, depending where you're from) but it all starts from the same standing flag.
It doesn't matter how much faith/economic spin you put on it, it's still rotten from the inside out.
Only thing

The real sad thing I find is that there is belief that certain animals such as lamb cows and chicken have been placed by the all mighty for our consumption only. So animal welfare is not really a great priority compared to cost. The result is Muslim eat twice as much meat as The average citizen and even The lowest demographic will have no meat free days. The result is above average health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Culturally meat consumption is view as a sign of affluence to add to the situation. The view that we are animals too and could be potential food for tigers or sharks is lost.
With alot religious people belief in the day of judgment where God will destroy the world, long before global warming or our destruction/ruining the planet. So they feel no need to go green or ethical but only live in self centric view of the world which is bizarre because religion see themselves as vehicles for the able to help the misfortunate.

I can recommend the Hebridean lamb/ Hogget at Flock and Herd- Peckham.
(Its ours!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXffE0RADKy/

Don't know if you have read it, but part of Jared Diamond's Collapse discusses cultural approaches to food consumption.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Fail-Survive/dp/0241958687

I found it a really interesting book.

Sounds similar to farmegdon that was a real eye opener to the disaster that is happening due to consumerism pressure on food supply. Both damage to the earth and ethical treatment of animals. We have allowed price to be king. In France they are a slightly better then us in demanding better quality.
I'll check it out. Culture is another interesting factor in our meat eating habits

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/vast-animal-feed-crops-meat-needs-destroying-planet

In the UK, pork is the second favourite meat after chicken, with each person eating on average 25kg a year in 2015 – nearly the whole recommended yearly intake for all meats. UK nutritional guidelines recommend 45-55g of protein per day, but the average UK consumption is 64-88g, of which 37% is meat and meat products.

Some people are eating a lot of sausages. 25kg= 6g of pork a day average, so approx 14 sausages daily?

There is no wonder that kidney disease is on the rise as well:

https://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/news/global-figures-show-staggering-increase-in-chronic-kidney-disease

6g does not equal 14 sausages does it?

68g per day which is 0.8 of a sausage based on 8 to the pound.

I'd like to think that eating meat responsibly is all about balance/moderation.

I think we've gone too extreme in our diets, meat-focussed and sugar-focussed. They are easy filling calories.

Michael Pollan's writing on this subject is always reasonable: "a little bit of everything, but mostly veg". I think you're never going to get the average person to cut down in an extreme way (veganism, 100% veggie) -- so it has to be about balance. People's livelihoods depend on meat farming but we just can't do too much of it.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" is good on the scandal that's the US corn industry and the industrialisation of meat production.

Depends how big your sausages are. I like little half-a-gram nibbles. Fry one up in 20 seconds and have it in a sandwich.

Pork dust.

A relevant question that I've been struggling with.

My girlfriend isn't keen on milk production, in particular the aspect of the calves being taken away from the mothers straightaway. Are there any "ethical" milk producers, free-range, calves remaining with the mother, etc (and the same question for cheese). Searching found a few in the US and one over here that seems to have a giant waiting list.

She's moved onto alternatives to dairy for cereal, etc but still wants real milk to go in tea.

Where is the balencing point in taking a life away from an innocent and defenceless sentient animal? Not trolling.. I just don’t get that logic

There's no real "nice" way of doing it, unfortunately. The mothers have to be kept in a perpetual state of milk production...

Again it's going to be CWF certification that you want to look for, specifically producers whose dairy calves go to someone with "Good Calf Commendation" status. Unfortunately the nature of dairy farming pretty much means the separation of calves from mothers, as @Well_is_it said, of which the male calves will likely go for raising as veal - hence the best you can do within this system is ensure that these animals have the best possible lives.

The only other way is to keep your own cow! Even then the usual way it's done is to milk the cow and then feed the calf yourself, otherwise the calf will beat you to it every time...

Having grown up with cows literally looking over the garden wall (and getting into the garden itself occasionally) I personally find it very difficult to deal with the way these placid and usually friendly animals have to live.

This was my point (badly made) earlier in the thread. If you consume milk/dairy, you have to accept that male calves will be slaughtered or support the British rose veal producers

Oat milk in tea is proper bangin anyway. Taste and consistency is identical so no need to give money to twats that raise veal.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" is good on the scandal that's the US corn industry and the industrialisation of meat production.

I second this

Try explaining that they have been selectively bred over millennia to be docile and cool with it. Importantly they wouldn't be alive if they didn't produce milk.

We buy organic milk (and not too much) as it seems to offer a marginally better quality of life for them. But then still consume a lot of cheese and butter as my other half is a veggie and the reality is having a balanced diet with no meat or dairy is hard.

If it's just tea milk then she's just got to take a view. Or if she has sugar in her tea (shudders) then try cashew.

I don't really understand this logic. What is the distinction between a young male calf or an older female calf being slaughtered?

(with the proviso they aren't mistreated)

Cheers for the various thoughts. Despite growing up with plenty of farms nearby I hadn't thought about it that much. I guess I'll have to sit her down and tell her the reality of where milk comes from generally.

Oat milk ftw.